[You leveled up!]
The armored man dissolved in front of Joshua's bloodshot eyes. He fell to his knees, despair flooding his soul.
He knew this man was going to kill him.
He looked up to Sachi, his blade now pointed at Joshua's forehead. "You're going to do it, aren't you? Just get it over with."
Sachi grasped his sword with both hands, aiming for a clean cut.
"Wait!"
Ray's voice rang throughout the stadium.
"You don't have to kill him, do you? You just need to break the boat!" Tears flooded Ray's eyes. Joshua was the first person Ray could truly rely on, he didn't wish to watch him die.
Dion placed his hand on Ray's shoulder. "He's dead either way. The other teams disappeared when their boat was destroyed, I don't think they intend to let anyone else live."
Ray looked down to his sopping shoes. "But... What about me? Does that mean I'll die too?"
Dion glanced upwards to the announcers booth. "No, by the way he spoke, I reckon your considered part of our team now."
Joshua look to Ray across the boats, nothing but the sea beneath them separating the two. "Ray..."
"You've always been useless. All you ever did was eat up all our food, and now you've abandoned your own team!? You lied to us about your power, and then use it to kill us!? You're nothing but scum!"
Ray faltered for a moment, the tears filling his eyes once more. "N-no, I..." He burst into tears and collapsed to the floor. Lyra bolted to his side, holding the young boy close.
"What a jerk!"
Joshua glared back up to Sachi. "If I'd been half as lucky as you... Blessed with teammates whose shoulders I could ride on... I'd be the king of this godforsaken realm already."
Sachi narrowed his eyes. "Is that truly what you think? I only survived because of luck?"
Sachi place the blade on the side of his neck. Droplets of sweat ran down Joshua's face, and his breathing became heavy.
"You're even more of a coward than I thought."
He swung his blade.
[You have slain a Champion!]
Joshua's body thumped to the floor before quickly evaporating.
The audience hung in silence for but a moment before erupting into an earsplitting cheer.
The announcer's voice blared louder than the rest. "What an upset! The underdog and Lesser Champion takes home the first round! I can see a few extraordinarily happy people in the crowd, raking in their winnings!"
A small elven man was cheering ecstatically in the crowd. "See!? I told ya Dave, they'll take the whole thing! Bet you wish you bet on them now, don'tcha?"
The buff man next to him was almost too stunned to speak. "D-don't act like you weren't wallowing as soon as that boy got tossed in the water!"
Lett dismissively waved at Dave. "Oh, that doesn't matter. What does matter is what kind of new fancy sword I should buy now!?"
Near the opposite side of the stadium, Zephyr was almost throwing himself over the railing.
"That's my Champion! The brunette girl down there, she's with me!"
Serendelle covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "See? They pulled through."
The announcer's voice sounded once again. "Team Sachi, please exit the arena and rest before the next game! Folks in the audience, don't go anywhere just yet, we've got three more rounds coming up!"
Sachi turned to jump back to his team before noticing something shiny in the boat
[Charmer's Scarf]
[Rare accessory]
[+10 CHA]
[When wearing this scarf, people (including Champions) are more attracted to you.]
Sachi stared down at the scarf with a confused gaze.
'...Seriously? I guess it couldn't hurt.'
[Equipped: Charmer's Scarf]
Sachi hopped back into his own boat, greeted by only the rapid weeping of Ray.
"I... I didn't..."
Sachi crouched down next to Ray, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey... Everything he said? It's all a lie. He chose not to understand you or your power, and blamed you for his own failure."
Ray stared up to Sachi with teary eyes.
"C'mon, Ray. Stand up, you did good, and you're the only reason we survived this." He gave Ray a light hearted smile. "You're already crazy strong!"
Ray stared for a moment before curling his lip and wiping the tears away, leaving just the redness around his eyes.
"I'm... Strong!"
Even if it was just a fleeting feeling, Ray chose to believe Sachi's words.
Lyra let out a small chuckle. "You didn't tell me you were good with kids, Sachi."
Sachi held an awkward smile in response. "I use to work at a day care is all."
Dion hopped back into the drivers seat of the boat. "Alright, enough chit-chat. They told us to get out of here and frankly I'd rather not stay any longer."
Sachi nodded as the boat began to move once again. Ray began to stare solemnly off into the crowd, while Lyra was barely holding onto her lunch on the other side.
They re-entered the room from which they had started, greeted by Vergo offering to take the reins of the kelpie.
"Never thought I'd see that kind of performance. You've got a strange talent there, Sachihiro. I look forward to the next round."
The group departed from the boat and were led down another pathway with Vergo leading them.
Sachi wasn't able to relax just yet. "Speaking of which, when is the next game."
Vergo held his wrist up to his face, reading the watch he wore. "A couple hours from now. There's three other matches of the demolition derby before the next game, if you're interested to watch."
Sachi thought about the stressful nature of the game. "I'd... rather not."
Vergo turned a corner to reveal an open room with just a few chairs and tables scattered. "Then you'll have to enjoy your time here. This is the waiting room for winning teams like you. And when the other teams arrive: No fighting, or else your disqualified outright."
Dion took a seat in rickety wooden chair. "I doubt that will be a problem, I'll be napping anyways."
Vergo laughed. "Great. I'll come back and grab you when it's time, I'm sure you'll love the next game."